She Stands at the Shoreline with Hands in the Air
by Kira kira kira
Summary: Namikaze Sora. Younger sister of Minato. Come read her journey as she grieves for her brother and sister-in-law, raises Konoha's number one unpredictable ninja, and maybe a little bit of love on the side? And how will having a loving figure from the beginning change Naruto's life? Read and comment!
1. Chapter 1

She Stands at the Shoreline with Hands in the Air

**彼女は空気中の手で海岸線に立っている****。**

A Prologue

**プロロー****グ**

"Sarutobi-sama…"

An old man's eyes lifted from his papers and into a pair of emerald.

"Sora-chan. I did not realize that you were here" the man said evenly.

"My apologies, I am sure you understand my urgency though." A young woman of no more than sixteen stood in front of his desk. She was dirtied and bloodied with multiple tears in her standard Jounin uniform. A thin layer of dirt stretched over her young face and illuminated her eyes.

She was an exact copy of her older brother. Except for her eyes, they were all her own.

The old man set his pen down before rubbing the space between his eyes. "You have heard then?"

"No. But I do not feel their chakra signatures" The girl tried to keep as stoic as she could, but she was rapidly losing. Hiruzen could tell that she was close to tears. She already knew what had happened; she just didn't know the details.

"I am very sorry, Sora-chan." There was nothing else that could be said, nothing else that could be done.

A small whimper was heard before a thud. Sora had slumped down unto her knees. The sudden motion caused her torn hitai-ate to clamber to the ground and sent her blonde waves flowing in her face.

"I know it is painful. Minato and Kushina died to protect Konoha. The village is in debt to your family."

Hiruzen's words did not seem to faze Sora at all. She remained a crumpled mess on the floor. The minutes stretched and the third Hokage listened as the girl sobbed. There was nothing that could be done to comfort her.

Sora finally calmed herself and wiped at her nose and eyes before lifting her head to look at the man in front of her. "The child?"

If possible, Hiruzen's face grew even grimmer. "He survived…"

A shadow of a smile grew on Sora's distraught face.

"Minato sealed the Kyuubi into his son" he studied the girl carefully as she retained the information he had shared. Her expression went from that of confusion to shock. "Minato was very clear that the boy should be looked upon as the savior of Konoha," Hiruzen sighed before lowering his head, "though, I am fearful that the persons of Konoha will look at him as the Nine-Tails demon and not the innocent child he is."

"Where is the child?" The woman asked with a new determination.

The third Hokage's eyes traveled to her, "Naruto is at the hospital, guarded by ANBU that I have selected by myself."

"Naruto…" she muttered to herself and gave him a slight nob before continuing, "I will take the child and raise him."

"And what of your Jounin duties? What happened to your dream of being in the ANBU?"

The young woman stood herself up and clinched her ripped headband in her hands. "I resign of being a ninja of Konoha," she stared down at her headband and her hand tightened around it, "And my new dream is to raise Minato and Kushina's legacy." She raised her head back up to stare at the man.

~x~

~x~

~x~

Author's note!- Yes a new story! That was sarcasm. This is nothing but the prologue, stay tuned for more. Please tell me what you think! Check out my profile for what Sora looks like :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N at the bottom!

The Pain of Growing Up

**育ったの痛****み**

~x~

_Sora,_

_If you are reading this, then I have traveled onto the next journey in life. I am so sorry that you must bear the burden of my death…_

_~x~_

I spent the following day at the hospital with Naruto. It was a noisy and uncomfortable affair as the hospital was brimming with the injured ninja from the Kyuubi attack. I was thankful that Sarutobi-sama had put Naruto in a rather secluded part of the hospital though I am sure that he had other motives then just keeping the hustle and bustle out of the room.

I sighed and looked down at the peaceful child in my cradled arms. He was a carbon copy of my brother. Blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. My hand traced over the scars that the Kyuubi chakra had created. Even with the scars he was perfect. Minato and Kushina would be proud.

The quiet sound of a knock shook me from my musings and I lifted my head towards the door. The bland white door slid open noiselessly in comparison to the ruckus that was heard down the hall.

"Sora-chan."

I wiped the tear that had strayed down my check before I gave the man in the doorway a small smile. "Sarutobi-sama."

"Ah, I see Naruto is quite taken with you" he said as he closed the door and peered over my shoulder to glance at the sleeping child.

My eyes moved from Sarutobi's aging face and to that of my sleeping nephew. "He is a very quiet child."

"We shall hope that he stays that way, hm?"

I nodded my head in agreement. There was a moment of silence as Sarutobi gave the babe in my arms a thoughtful look before looking into my eyes.

"Tough times are ahead." He stated and made his way across the room to sit in a chair by the window.

I stayed quiet as he stared out of the window.

"I must request that you change your name and seal your chakra, Sora-chan. With half of Konoha in shambles, we are at a huge risk of an attack by another village. You will be a prime target with Minato as your brother. Not to mention you have made quite a name for yourself, Konoha no kiiroi ooyamaneko." I saw a ghost of a smile at the mention of my nickname, but it quickly faded. "Minato and yourself were two of Konoha's most promising shinobi, but as it stands, I cannot afford to lose both of you. The time may come when you will be called back to your ninja duties."

I nodded my head in understanding. I had already come to this conclusion earlier in the morning.

Sarutobi gave a small chuckle, "As expected, you already knew I was going to request this of you."

"Yes, I figured as much. My brother was not a very well-liked man to foreign ninja and I was more or less following in his footsteps." I concluded with a small smile.

"You are very much like your brother," the old man looked me over. "It is a shame that he had such a premature death and short run as Hokage."

I looked back down at the sleeping Naruto, trying my best to hold back my tears once again. "Yes, but is that not the life of a ninja? To save others and die young?" I questioned the old man bitterly.

Shuffling was heard as the man made his way to the door. I continued to stare at Naruto, too afraid to look Sarutobi in the eyes. I had shamelessly let my emotions overcome my pride as a ninja.

"Just because it is expected, does not mean that it is easier to accept." He paused for a moment of silence before continuing. "I will be back at the end of the day to seal your chakra and I request that you do not allow your brother's death to pollute your opinion of ninja. You have better judgment than that Sora-chan."

He left with that and I sat in silence for hours, contemplating how much my life had changed in a span of only a day.

~x~

Later that night, after I had taken Naruto back to my apartment, I found myself opening my door to a certain old man.

"Konban wa, Sora-chan."

My back arched in a bow before him. "Good evening, Hokage-sama."

The man in question erupted in a low chuckle before entering the house. "As expected, you are always two steps ahead of me, Sora-chan."

Smiling in return, I closed the door behind him. "I was not granted the Lynx as my summing animal for no reason."

"Of course not, of course not," he laughed off.

"Would you like some tea?" I asked as we walked into the sitting room.

"Not tonight, though I thank you for the offer. I would rather we get straight to business. I have a lot of paper building up with my reinstatement as Hokage."

"Yes, I understand." I sat down across from and folded my hands into my lap to stop them from fidgeting.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed before looking at the young woman in front of him. She was strong, but strong enough to bear the burden of her brother's legacy and ultimate secret alone, he could only hope that she was.

"Naruto will be taking Kushina's family name, along with yourself." I nodded in comprehension. "You will also go by the name of Nise. You are no longer Namikaze Sora. Your name will be added to the KIA stone along with your brother and Kushina. The rest of the village will be informed that that you died during the Kyuubi attack alongside your brother."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

He gave a brief nod before continuing. "I will seal your chakra and then you are to live as if you have always been a civilian. I have set up a small home for you and Naruto on the outskirts of the market district and for the first three or four months, I must ask you to stay out of the eye of as many people as possible. Let the memory of Sora fade a little before you make an appearance. I will have groceries and all of your needs delivered by my personal ANBU. You will also be given a handsome monthly allowance. As I stated before, Konoha is in debt to your family and I am sure Minato had quite a healthy personal balance himself."

My stare traveled from the old man across from me and towards the table. A lot of the information I had already guessed about, but it was still a lot to take in.

"I know this is a lot to take in, Sora-chan. But it is for the better and it is essential that we get it done as soon as possible." He sympathized with me momentarily. "I must also inform you that you are not to tell the child about the demon fox inside of him. There has been a lot of bad response already by the majority of the village. As of tomorrow I will be passing a law that no one is to mention the fox to Naruto at all, or they will be punished. This law, unfortunately, must also be followed by yourself. I must also ask you to keep his parentage a secret from him. It is cruel, but it in his best interests to do so."

I tugged at the end of my sweatshirt as I slowly thought of Minato's son growing up not knowing who his parents were. It was a painful thought and I felt as I was betraying my brother by not telling his son what a hero his mother and father were and how much they wanted to raise him themselves.

"Sora-chan." I glanced up at Sarutobi-sama. "It will be very hard on you, but I have faith in you and Naruto." I nodded but otherwise kept quiet. "Come now. I will perform the sealing jutsu now."

"Hai," I gathered myself together and soon found myself standing next to the third Hokage.

"Now lift your sweatshirt so I have access to your stomach." He ordered as I watched him gather chakra into his left hand.

I did as I was told and shut my eyes in anticipation.

"Gogyō Fūin No Jutsu!"

~x~

FUN FACTS!

Hai in Japanese does not mean yes. Many people make this mistake but it actually mean something along the lines of 'understood' or 'got it'.

2. Sora is 12 years younger than Minato. Making her a year or two older than Kakashi.

Anyway sorry it took me so long! I just started school again and I'm still working quite a bit so my time is limited. But I got amazing results from my first chapter! 2 reviews and countless subscribers! You guys are awesome! Please review!

Stay tuned for next time! Naruto grows up and starts school!


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